What does it mean to "raise a man for a thousand days and use him for a moment"?
And what does "it's good that he came first" mean?
At this moment, hearing Yanshu's inner thoughts and seeing her young niece suddenly appear along with the Ni family girl, Yuwen Lan finally realized something.
...His beloved consort hadn't actually invited him here to admire the scenery.
Looking at his young niece's pure and clear eyes, Yuwen Lan had no choice but to quickly straighten Yanshu up and let go of her hand. He coughed and said, "Why is Lan Jun here?"
The little girl replied in a crisp voice, "Because Consort Yi wanted to bring us here to play!"
She then pulled the Ni family girl in front of the two of them and said, "And Sister Xiangwan is here too."
Ni Xiangwan awkwardly bowed to the two of them and said, "Greetings to Your Majesty and Consort Yi. The young princess wanted to play with Consort Yi, so the Empress Dowager and my mother asked me to accompany her here."
"I see," Yuwen Lan nodded, then raised an eyebrow at his beloved consort and said meaningfully, "So why did everyone end up here together?"
He just wanted to know what she was up to now.
What was her purpose in gathering everyone here?
Yanshu coughed and smiled, saying, "Well...I heard the lotus flowers are blooming beautifully these days, and I've been wanting to invite Your Majesty to come admire them. It just so happened that right before I left, I heard the young princess wanted to see me, so I decided to have her join us. After all, the more people there are to enjoy the scenery, the merrier."
Of course, she hadn't known Ni Xiangwan would come along. The person who came to inform her had only mentioned Lan Jun looking for her.
However, since the Crown Princess was still recovering these past few days, the mother and daughter were still staying in the palace. Hearing that Madam Mu was also about to return to Mingzhou, the Empress Dowager had invited them to stay a few more days.
The Ni family girl had been playing with Lan Jun every day, so it wasn't surprising for them to appear together now.
But the question was...
Which one of them did Consort Zhou intend to use to frame and incriminate her?
Tsk tsk tsk, it's a good thing she wasn't in her own palace. Otherwise, if Consort Zhou had succeeded and something happened to these two little girls, the Empress Dowager, the Crown Princess, and Madam Mu would all hate her.
Even if the Emperor wanted to protect her, he might not be able to!
...
Listening silently up to this point, Yuwen Lan had more or less understood.
It seemed Lan Jun wanted to play with her, and that Zhou woman planned to cause trouble, so she had foreseen it and asked him to come as a precaution?
Heh, and here he thought she actually missed him...
Of course, if the Zhou woman truly intended to do such a thing, then her choice was not bad.
So after a brief moment of disappointment, Yuwen Lan nodded and said, "Very well, since we're all here, let's go together."
With that, he sat down in the pavilion.
However, little Lan Jun didn't want to admire the scenery. She looked around and immediately asked Yanshu, "Consort Yi, where is your talking bird?"
Yanshu was stunned. Talking bird?
She asked in confusion, "Is the princess referring to an all-black mynah bird? But I don't keep any mynah birds."
The little girl shook her head seriously. "It's not all black, it's colorful. Consort Zhou said you have a colorful bird that can speak like a person. It's supposed to be very beautiful."
Consort Zhou?
Yanshu paused, suddenly understanding.
Heh, she had wondered why Lan Jun suddenly wanted to come play with her.
It was indeed Consort Zhou's doing.
She could only say to the little girl, "Consort Zhou must have been joking with the princess. I don't have any such magical birds here. If I did, I would have shown it to the princess first thing."
After she finished speaking, the Ni family girl also persuaded from the side, "Consort Yi is right, Consort Zhou was just joking with the princess. I haven't seen such a bird either."
Lan Jun immediately pouted.
Her curiosity had been dashed, and the little girl was naturally a bit unhappy.
But soon, she looked around and her eyes lit up when she saw boats on the Taiye Pool. She turned to Yuwen Lan and said, "Uncle Emperor, can we go boating together?"
Yanshu was startled. Before Yuwen Lan could speak, she quickly dissuaded, "That's not a good idea. There are so many mosquitoes by the lake, and the boats are unstable. What if someone falls into the water? Let's play on shore instead."
Damn, she was on high alert now, afraid that if anything happened to these two little girls, Consort Zhou would pin the blame on her.
That's why she hadn't dared to bring even a plate of snacks or a pot of tea today.
She was just hoping they could sit here for about half an hour, then safely escort Lan Jun and the Ni family girl back to the Palace of Benevolent Peace.
Fortunately, the Ni family girl was quite sensible. Hearing Yanshu say this, she also hurried to persuade little Lan Jun, "Consort Yi is right, princess. Let's just play on shore."
With two wishes unfulfilled in a row, the little girl was naturally even more unhappy. Unwilling to give up, she looked at Yuwen Lan with one last glimmer of hope.
However, she saw her imperial uncle say, "Indeed, the lake is dangerous. Let's just play in this pavilion for a while."
The little girl pouted, thinking there was nothing fun about sitting in this pavilion.
She looked at the lake surface again. A patch of lotus flowers was in full bloom, with green lotus leaves spread like little umbrellas densely covering the water's surface. Birds and dragonflies flew back and forth between them, making it look quite lively.
But the most interesting things were the green lotus pods among the flowers.
She really wanted one.
But she didn't dare say it.
Because Uncle Emperor looked so fierce when he wasn't smiling...
However, after a short while, the little girl really couldn't hold back anymore. She carefully asked Yuwen Lan, "But...what if Lan Jun wants a lotus pod?"
The little girl blinked her eyes, which held both expectation and a hint of fear, looking quite pitiful.
Yuwen Lan thought for a moment, then said, "Then you sit here obediently, and I'll have someone pick some for you."
That would work too. The little girl immediately nodded and agreed. Yuwen Lan then instructed Fu Hai to find someone to pick lotus pods.
Seeing this, Yanshu also breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that surely nothing could go wrong with the lotus pods from the lake.
But even if something did happen, it was the Emperor who had ordered someone to pick them for his niece. In any case, it had nothing to do with her.
Yuwen Lan: "..."
Fine, it really had nothing to do with her.
And he didn't believe that Zhou woman could cause any trouble with lotus pods from the lake either.
Soon, a bunch of fresh lotus pods were picked and brought over. Little Lan Jun immediately beamed with joy. She chose the biggest pod from among them, then took out a small apricot from her little cloth bag and put them together to show everyone. She said sweetly, "These are all for Mother. Lan Jun wants to give these to Mother."
Speaking of which, recently the Crown Princess had been actively cooperating with the imperial physicians in her treatment, showing signs of turning over a new leaf. She was also treating her daughter much better than before.
As a result, little Lan Jun was also concerned about her mother in everything, wanting to show filial piety by giving her mother all the good things she found.
The little girl was so adorable and sweet that even the apricot seemed cute. Yanshu couldn't help but smile and say, "Which tree did this apricot come from? How is it as beautiful as the little princess?"
Little Lan Jun giggled and said, "It's from the Imperial Garden. Sister Xiangwan helped me pick it. Sister Xiangwan ate one too, she said it was very sweet."
Hearing this, Ni Xiangwan explained with embarrassment, "We had just arrived and were on our way here when the little princess saw the apricots in the Imperial Garden looking good. I asked the palace servants if we could pick them, and they said yes, so I picked two. I couldn't resist and tried one."
Of course, Ni Xiangwan was only a thirteen-year-old girl who had been doted on by her mother since childhood and had a naive and lively personality. Picking an apricot wasn't really overstepping any boundaries, especially since she had asked the palace servants first.
But when Yanshu heard this, she was suddenly stunned.
She had been so afraid of someone tampering with these two girls' food and drink today that she hadn't dared to prepare anything. Yet despite all her precautions, she hadn't expected them to pick and eat apricots on their way here?
Tsk, although she didn't know if there was anything wrong with the apricots, she was now seeing danger everywhere and felt extremely nervous.
But she couldn't let others notice, so she could only try asking Ni Xiangwan, "Was the apricot sweet?"
Ni Xiangwan nodded with a blushing smile and said, "It really was very sweet, like it had been coated in honey. I've never eaten such delicious apricots outside the palace."
Yanshu suddenly felt something was off.
As far as she knew, the few apricot trees in the Imperial Garden were of ordinary varieties, mainly used for viewing the blossoms in spring. She had picked and eaten them before, and they weren't that sweet.
So she quietly asked her system, "Could there be something wrong with that apricot?"
The system replied, "Yes, Consort Zhou had someone put drugs on it."
What???
Yanshu was stunned.
However, before she could speak, Ni Xiangwan suddenly staggered and then unexpectedly coughed up a mouthful of blood, falling backwards.
Yanshu's eyes widened, and she immediately cried out, "Save Miss Ni, quickly save Miss Ni!!!"
By the time the Empress Dowager and Madam Mu received the news, Ni Xiangwan was already unconscious.
Fu Hai and others carried her back to the Palace of Benevolent Peace. The young lady who had been lively just moments ago now had her eyes tightly shut, her face turning purple, with traces of blood still at the corners of her mouth.
Seeing this scene, Madam Mu cried out "Xiangwan" and nearly fainted.
The Empress Dowager also hurriedly asked, "What happened to Xiangwan?"
Fu Hai replied, "Your Majesty, just now His Majesty, Consort Yi, the young princess, and Miss Ni were admiring flowers by the Taiye Pool. Suddenly, Miss Ni started vomiting blood. His Majesty immediately summoned the imperial physician and ordered us to quickly bring Miss Ni back."
As he spoke, Yuwen Lan, Yanshu, and little Lan Jun also arrived. The Empress Dowager anxiously asked again, "What happened?"
Yuwen Lan said gravely, "We don't know either. We were just talking normally when Miss Ni suddenly vomited blood and fainted."
As soon as he finished speaking, the imperial physician entered the hall. Yuwen Lan then said, "Let the physician examine her first."
The Empress Dowager agreed and quickly ordered people to make room around the bed for the physician to treat Ni Xiangwan.
The physician lifted the young lady's eyelids, felt her pulse, and used a silver needle to sample the blood remaining on her lips. He quickly concluded, "Your Majesty, Empress Dowager, Miss Ni has been poisoned."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Lan's heart skipped a beat. So the apricots were indeed poisoned.
The Empress Dowager was shocked, "What? How could she be poisoned out of nowhere?"
Yanshu hurriedly said, "Earlier, this concubine was chatting with Lan Jun and Miss Ni. I heard them say they had picked apricots in the Imperial Garden. Miss Ni ate one, saying it was very sweet. Right after she said that, she vomited blood and fainted."
Although she was now free from suspicion, it was unfortunately too late to stop the Ni family's young lady when she found out.
After all, the system only warned her of her own dangers, just like the previous time when the fake Consort Xu attempted to assassinate the emperor. It wouldn't warn others.
When Ni Xiangwan was picking apricots, she was hurrying to the Taiye Pool.
This Consort Zhou, to harm her, actually came up with such a vicious method!
Just imagine, if little Lan Jun hadn't wanted to save the apricot for her mother and had eaten it like Ni Xiangwan, wouldn't two innocent people be unconscious now?
Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager frowned at Yanshu and said, "Weren't Xiangwan and Lan Jun supposed to visit you today? Why were they picking and eating apricots on the way?"
Yanshu paused, then immediately lowered her head and said, "This concubine doesn't know either."
As soon as she finished speaking, Yuwen Lan quickly interjected, "I know Mother is worried, but I arrived at the Taiye Pool first today, followed by Consort Yi. Miss Ni and Lan Jun arrived last. Before that, they hadn't met. So Consort Yi wouldn't know why Miss Ni ate apricots on the way. We should ask the palace maids who were attending to Miss Ni and Lan Jun."
— When one is overly concerned, even the usually calm Empress Dowager would struggle to discern right from wrong in her anxiety.
On the surface, since the emperor and Lan Jun were together today, they obviously couldn't have harmed Ni Xiangwan, so only Yanshu seemed suspicious.
That's why Yanshu acted so correctly today, immediately calling him to the Taiye Pool when she noticed something was wrong.
If she had been slightly slower, Ni Xiangwan would have certainly collapsed in her palace.
If that had happened, would the Empress Dowager, in her anger, have listened to her explanation?
Now, hearing Yuwen Lan's words, the Empress Dowager regained some clarity. She immediately turned to the palace maids who had entered with Lan Jun and asked, "What exactly happened?"
As everyone knew, Lan Jun and Ni Xiangwan had been staying in the Palace of Benevolent Peace these past few days, so these palace maids were from there.
Upon hearing this, the palace maids immediately knelt down and said, "Please understand, Empress Dowager. These past few days, the young princess often played in the Imperial Garden and always wanted to pick apricots there. We thought the apricots weren't ripe yet, so we didn't let the young princess pick them. We didn't expect that when we passed by today, the apricots smelled very sweet. The young princess wanted to pick them again, so Miss Ni picked two."
This explanation cleared Yanshu of any connection to the incident.
However, the Empress Dowager immediately turned to Lan Jun, who was being held by Yanshu, and anxiously asked, "Did you eat that apricot?"
The little girl obediently shook her head and took out the uneaten fruit, saying, "Lan Jun wanted to save it for mother, so I didn't eat it."
The Empress Dowager finally relaxed a bit, but then Yuwen Lan instructed the physician, "Can you tell if there's anything wrong with this fruit?"
The physician complied and carefully examined the fruit. Suddenly, he said, "Your Majesty, there's a tiny needle hole in this fruit. It's very likely that something was injected into it."
Upon hearing this, everyone came forward to look. Indeed, there was a tiny needle hole near the stem of the apricot.
Upon closer inspection, they could smell a strong sweet fragrance emanating from the needle hole.
The physician thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed in shock, "Could this be the scent of aconite nectar? It's extremely poisonous!"
What? Extremely poisonous?
Upon hearing this, Madam Mu, who had been by her daughter's side, immediately cried out to her daughter lying on the bed, "Wan'er, Wan'er, wake up..."
The Empress Dowager, both anxious and angry, immediately said, "Who could have such a vicious heart!"
Yuwen Lan said, "I'll have the Inner Court Supervisory Office investigate immediately. Whoever is responsible will not be spared. But the urgent matter now is to save Miss Ni."
The Empress Dowager nodded and quickly ordered Zhu Shu, "Go fetch Chief Physician Zhang immediately."
Zhu Shu complied and immediately left to find him.
— It seemed that for such a potent poison, only the most skilled physician from the Imperial Medical Academy could cure it.
The situation was urgent, and in no time, Zhang Shengkang, the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, arrived at the Palace of Benevolent Peace.
The Empress Dowager didn't even let him perform the customary greetings. As soon as she saw him, she said directly, "Hurry, you must wake Miss Ni up."
— This was her best friend's precious daughter, and an innocent life. No matter what, nothing could happen to her.
Zhang Shengkang immediately complied and hurried to the inner chamber to treat Ni Xiangwan.
Meanwhile, the source of the poison was being urgently traced.
Led by palace servants, the Inner Court Supervisory Office quickly found the apricot tree in the Imperial Garden. They immediately picked all the fruits and examined them one by one. Sure enough, they found similar needle holes on the stems of most of the fruits.
The needle holes were extremely small, almost impossible to see without careful inspection.
These punctured fruits all had a sweet, fragrant smell emanating from the needle holes.
When the juice from these fruits was squeezed out, any ants or insects that came into contact with it died instantly.
Or when a few drops of the juice were added to water, within a quarter of an hour, all the fish in the tank would float belly-up.
After examination by three or four imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy, they all confirmed that this toxin was indeed aconite nectar.
The extremely poisonous nectar of the aconite flower.
After hearing the report, Yuwen Lan sneered, "Very well. Even the fruit trees in the Imperial Garden can be poisoned in such a secretive manner with such a potent toxin. What are you all good for?"
Yao Shun, the head of the Inner Court Supervisory Office, felt his legs weaken and immediately knelt down, saying, "We have failed in our duties. Please calm your anger, Your Majesty."
The Empress Dowager, also furious, asked, "Where are the people from the Imperial Gardens Bureau? How could they not know that perfectly good fruit trees have been poisoned like this!"
Yao Shun hurriedly replied, "Your Majesty, we have already interrogated all the gardeners from the Imperial Gardens Bureau responsible for the Imperial Garden, but they all claim to know nothing about it."
Seeing this situation, Yanshu silently sighed.
— Of course the people from the Imperial Gardens Bureau didn't know. After all, this was done by someone from the Bird Department of the Imperial Animal Husbandry Office on behalf of Consort Zhou.
Tsk, who would have thought that even when Consort Zhou had fallen so low, there were still people willing to work for her as long as she paid.
At this moment, she was the only one in the hall who knew the truth. She couldn't remain indifferent. After some thought, she tentatively spoke up, "Besides the Imperial Gardens Bureau, who else frequently moves around in the Imperial Garden? It seems that to poison every fruit would take time, it couldn't be done all at once, right?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Yuwen Lan nodded and added, "They would also need to avoid being seen. Is there anyone who often goes to the Imperial Garden at night?"
Upon hearing this, Yao Shun, the head of the Inner Court Supervisory Office, had a sudden realization and immediately said, "There are also people from the Bird Department. They often release and exercise birds in the Imperial Garden, and some birds are even released at night."
Yuwen Lan said, "Then go investigate immediately!"
Yao Shun complied, quickly getting up from the ground and leading his men out again.
About an hour later, he returned and reported, "Your Majesty, Little Lin from the Sparrow District has just confessed that he was the one who did it."
The Empress Dowager immediately asked, "Who ordered him to do it?"
Yao Shun hesitated, coughed, and then said, "Little Lin stated that Zhao Laishun from Zhongcui Palace gave him 100 taels of silver to do it."
What?
Everyone in the Palace of Benevolent Peace was stunned.
Zhongcui Palace?
Wasn't that Consort Zhou's residence?
The Empress Dowager was also taken aback, but then angrily commanded, "Bring Zhao Laishun and his master to me!"
The palace servants complied.
Before long, they brought Zhao Laishun and Consort Zhou.
At first, Consort Zhou showed no sign of panic and simply asked, "May I inquire why the Empress Dowager has summoned me?"
The Empress Dowager's face was stern as she questioned coldly, "Someone poisoned the apricot tree in the Imperial Garden. Ni Xiangwan is now unconscious. A servant from the Sparrow District has already confessed that it was done by a servant from your palace. Were you aware of this?"
Consort Zhou feigned surprise and said, "How could such a thing happen? I'm only hearing about this now... Please understand, Empress Dowager, I have no grudge against Miss Ni. Why would I harm her?"
The Empress Dowager laughed coldly, "I'm also wondering why you would harm her when you have no grudge. Then who was it today that told Lan Jun that Consort Yi had a talking bird, encouraging Lan Jun to go play with Consort Yi?"
She had initially thought her niece was just joking with the little girl, but never imagined her niece could be so malicious.
However, when this was brought up, Consort Zhou defended herself, saying, "I was just joking around. How could I have known Lan Jun would take it seriously? You can't blame this on me, can you? How could I have known Lan Jun and Miss Ni would go to Consort Yi together? It's all just a coincidence. You can't determine my guilt based on mere coincidence, can you?"
-- She had carefully planned everything, spending money to hire people, having someone follow the two little girls to know where they usually played, and even had the remaining poison hidden near Ganlu Palace. If only the two girls had gone to Ganlu Palace and the poison had taken effect, that bitch Li Yanshu would have been unable to defend herself...
Why hadn't the two little girls gone to Ganlu Palace as planned, but instead went to Taiye Pool, with the Emperor present no less?
Regardless, she couldn't let this fall on her head now.
The Empress Dowager was, after all, her aunt. She didn't believe her aunt would punish her own family for the sake of that adopted girl from the Ni family!
Yuwen Lan, who had been silently listening, now understood everything.
But it wasn't enough for just him to understand; he needed to make the Empress Dowager understand too.
Fortunately, at that moment, Xiao Shunzi rushed in from outside and reported to him, "Your Majesty, Zhao Laifu, who hid something outside Ganlu Palace, has confessed that Consort Zhou ordered him to do so."
What?
Everyone was stunned.
Something hidden outside Ganlu Palace?
And this Zhao Laifu was Zhao Laishun's brother, both serving in Zhongcui Palace.
Consort Zhou was shocked.
Zhao Laifu had suddenly disappeared earlier. Had he been captured by the Emperor's men?
Before she could figure it out, the Empress Dowager angrily commanded, "Take these people away for severe interrogation. I want to know who has such a vicious heart to harm others like this!"
Everyone complied.
The Empress Dowager's attitude was now crystal clear.
It seemed she was thoroughly angered this time and had decided to disregard family ties and her maiden family, determined to give Madam Mu an explanation.
Sure enough, before long, the brothers Zhao Laifu and Zhao Laishun both confessed that Consort Zhou had instructed them to do this, with the aim of framing Consort Yi.
However, even though the truth had come to light, the implicated young lady from the Ni family was still unconscious.
Zhang Shengkang had immediately begun treating Ni Xiangwan upon arriving at the Palace of Benevolent Peace, using acupuncture and sealing acupoints, causing her to quickly vomit some black blood. However, even after more than two hours, Miss Ni remained unconscious.
The Empress Dowager was anxious and asked, "Why hasn't Xiangwan woken up yet?"
Zhang Shengkang frowned and explained, "Your Highness, you may not know that this aconite honey is extremely poisonous. Moreover, some time has passed between Miss Ni's poisoning and the onset of symptoms. I'm afraid the poison has already spread to her internal organs."
Even those who didn't understand medicine could tell how serious this was. The Empress Dowager anxiously asked, "How confident are you in treating her?"
Zhang Shengkang replied, "I dare not conceal the truth. I'm afraid I only have a 50% chance of success. Even if we can wake Miss Ni up, her mind... may be damaged."
Upon hearing this, Madam Mu nearly fainted.
The Empress Dowager also repeatedly exclaimed, "What are we to do!"
That damned girl, she wanted to have her cut into a thousand pieces!
Seeing this situation, Yanshu also sighed inwardly and couldn't help but question the system, [As a harmless and good system, how can you stand by and watch without helping? If you had told me even half an hour earlier, this young lady wouldn't have to suffer like this!]
The system replied, [??? I'm your system, not hers. If I told you about every murder, arson, robbery, and theft happening every day, could you keep up? Besides, even if you knew half a day earlier, Consort Zhou had already poisoned the apricot tree. There's a saying, 'One doesn't turn back until hitting a wall.' If you had exposed it, would others have believed you? Would the Empress Dowager have had the heart to severely punish her own niece?]
[The imperial court is inherently cruel. It's either you die or I perish. Even if a Bodhisattva came down, they couldn't manage all these wolves and tigers. Moreover, misfortune might be a blessing in disguise. This young lady might gain something unexpected from this ordeal.]
Yanshu felt like coughing up blood, [What unexpected gain could she possibly have if she can't even wake up?]
But just as she thought this, she suddenly realized something--
If Zhang Shengkang couldn't cure her, it didn't mean others couldn't!
So she hurriedly said to the Emperor, "I wonder if that Imperial Physician Jiang might have a solution..."
Yuwen Lan had also thought of this person and immediately nodded, instructing Fu Hai, "Summon Jiang Nianqi."
Fu Hai complied and immediately sent someone to the Imperial Medical Academy. Before long, Imperial Physician Jiang hurriedly arrived.
The Empress Dowager actually didn't quite believe his medical skills could be better than Zhang Shengkang's, but at this point, there was no other choice. She could only let him examine the young Miss Ni.
Zhang Shengkang could only step aside for now and watch.
-- He had recently heard that such a figure had emerged in the Imperial Medical Academy, helping the Princess treat the Love-Inducing Powder poison.
However, while the Love-Inducing Powder could be treated, this aconite honey was different.
In his fifty-plus years of life, he had never heard of anyone who could cure such a potent poison.
So he wanted to see how this Jiang fellow would handle it.
Of course, at this moment, apart from Zhang Shengkang, everyone in the hall was closely watching Imperial Physician Jiang's every move.
After all, this might be Miss Ni's only hope.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Imperial Physician Jiang calmly examined Miss Ni and quickly concluded, "This young lady has been poisoned with aconite. It's indeed quite troublesome."
Quite troublesome?
This statement seemed to leave some room for hope.
The Empress Dowager immediately asked, "Is there a way to cure her?"
Imperial Physician Jiang nodded and said, "There is, but I need to know if this young lady's closest relative is here? I need to use the blood of her closest relative as a medicine catalyst."
Closest relative?
Upon hearing this, Yanshu and Yuwen Lan simultaneously looked at Madam Mu.
